[bksvol-discuss] A modest proposal
- From: Ann Parsons <akp@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 07:30:43 -0500
Hi all,
<smiling> No, I'm not proposing anything to do with the consumption of
children, as did Jonathan Swift some two hundred and fifty years ago.
No, I'm thinking about something Monica said in her recent message that
piqued my interest. She said that volunteers help people to learn to
use Bookshare. This made me think of all the new members we're likely
to get in the next year and more. I think that we ought to do
something about this.
I propose that a web page be created with contact info of people who
are willing to help newbies to do two things, to apply to and use
Bookshare; and second, to submit and validate books.
The first task is to help brand new folks to learn to use Bookshare;
how to apply, how to download tools, and what tools to download; how to
find books, and finally how to download and to read the books they
obtain. This seems like a simple process, and probably is to those of
us who do it on a regular basis, however, if you think of it in terms
of tasks, and you break down those tasks into smaller steps, it becomes
clear that either some kind of step-by-step guide needs to be
developed, and/or there needs to be a pool of readily available talent
to help newbies navigate this mine field. The application process is
straight forward, but then, how do you decide which tools to download?
Do you need the unpack tool? Do you need the reader? What *are* these
anyway? Finally, with the plethora of computers, OS's, notetakers,
software DAISY book readers, hardware DAISY book players, the process
of getting a book from the computer to its ultimate player is no longer easy.
Secondly, these trainers would help people to submit and validate
books. If Monica's quality control is to be adopted, then training for
volunteers is a must. We all need to be on the same page. Using the
Bookshare Community room for training classes more than occasionally
would help here. Perhaps a training program could grow out of Cindy4's
manual project. An organized training program would formalize the
excellent information which is already available in the Volunteers'
Manual. If volunteers went through a formal training process, they
could obtain their approval as volunteers. If all volunteers had the
same training, then the quality issues might be minimized.
So, I propose that first, there be a web page listing trainers/helpers.
Secondly, just as Cindy4 is working on a manual on submitting and
validating, I am proposing that in odd moments, I start working on a
text book to help folks with the ins and outs of applying, preparing
and then using Bookshare. If this is something that you folks think
would be good, I'll start on it soon. I can't promise to do anything
in the next three weeks, but after the 15th of December, my life is
going to settle down, and I can devote some time to this. Any
suggestions on how to implement my suggestions are sought and appreciated.
Ann P.
--
Ann K. Parsons
Portal Tutoring
EMAIL: akp@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.portaltutoring.info
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost."
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